KSC-2009-4164

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the stacking of the Ares I-X segments is under way. Here, the forward center segment (top) is lowered onto the aft center and the aft skirt segments. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system . The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder